Honestly, I pretty much stopped watching music videos over a decade ago. Now, I almost never see them. Usually it’s some old video from the 1990’s whenever I do. I actually remember those videos. Sometimes I will see a new vid if it gets a lot of media hype or something, which was the case for Rihanna’s latest, Bitch Better Have My Money. Most people would know from the title that this was going to be a violent affair. But you wouldn’t know that from the rad fem response. They’re busy wringing their hands over Rihanna torturing some white woman in the video.
The point is, they always have to chime in and fuck with someone else’s creative vision. Things are always “problematic” or whatever other bullshit buzzword they come up with. Why not just let the video stand or fall on its own merits? How about calling it a shitty song? I just don’t understand the inclination to try and censor something over content. Maybe it’s because I was raised in a no censorship household. If something sucks, it sucks. But the content being risque or violent should have nothing to do with that judgement.
Then again, I’m not an SJW like Helen Lewis of The New Statesman:
It was not very feminist — not even very hashtag feminist — of Rihanna to “torture that poor rich lady”. That is because it is not very feminist to torture women. Even if they are white. Even if they are rich. Even if you are a woman yourself. Sorry if this comes as a surprise…
Let’s put this bluntly: a lot of men who get off on images of women being tortured are going to be turned on by this video. It’s a sexy video. Rihanna is an astonishingly good-looking woman, with a well-documented allergy to clothes. This is all meant to be a turn-on. And then the anguished face of a woman in pain, swings into view . . . how’s that erection working out for you now?
I don’t get aroused by women being tortured, although I’m sure some men do. So we should get rid of anything that might be titillating to a small subset of men? Why, because some smug feminist told me I had to? I don’t know about you, but I will trust Rihanna over some blowhard when it comes to entertaining me. I guess these idiots have to have something to write about, though. Come to think of it, Ms. Lewis just provided me with this column. Perhaps I should be more thankful. I’ll try harder.
